Quest for the Time Gears
by 8bitparadise
Summary: My new story based on "Explorers of Sky/Time/Darkness." It is my own spin on the original story. I played through Explorers of Sky again recently and really wanted to take my own spin on the story. Lopunny has always been a favorite of mine (Lucario not so much, but he's a pretty admired Pokemon and works for the role so I felt he was acceptable.)
1. Chapter 1

_Water, it's the first thing I remember. Just floating, towards the light. No shortness of breath, no struggling for air. Just a feeling of slowly being lifted towards the surface. I emerged from the water and the warmth of sunlight fell over me like a blanket. Suddenly I felt a cushion of sand underneath me. It was all so surreal, was it a dream? Is any of this really happening? Suddenly everything went black._

**QUEST FOR THE TIME GEARS**

__

Lucario was running as fast he could. "That relic fragment is ours!" a voice from behind bellowed. Lucario pushed his way through trees and shrubs. As soon as he saw a break in the thick vegetation he lunged through it only to be quickly halted by the large, towering cliff that lay in front of him. Chuckling came from behind him. A Skuntank, Koffing and Zubat all emerged from the trees. "You have nowhere left to go ya stupid Lucario, now hand it over." Lucario reached into the satchel he had hanging over his shoulder.

"That's right, nice and easy." the Skuntank said slowly approaching. Suddenly, Lucario pulled out what almost looked like a shell. He blew into it and a loud noise echoed across the land. Then he jumped over the edge of the cliff. Zubat, Koffing and Skuntank quickly ran to the edge of the cliff and peered over the edge to see Lucario falling. "That crazy kid made a jump for it, what the heck was he thinkin'!?" the Zubat exclaimed.  
"Looks like we'll pickin' the relic fragment off of his splattered remains boys." Said the Skuntank.  
Lucario looked down as he was falling, wind beating him in the face. He could see the ground getting closer and closer. "_Hurry, hurry!" _ Lucario thought to himself. He closed his eyes fearing his own demise. That was until a screech of a Braviary poured through the mountains. Lucario opened his eyes to see the Braviary approaching quickly. The Braviary swooped down in Lucario's direction. And right before Luacrio was about to meet with the ground the Braviary swooped underneath him and caught him. Lucario opened his eyes to see himself moving. He let out a sigh of relief.

"You should really work on your timing, that was too close." said Lucario. The Braviary turned his head and screeched at him.  
"Okay, okay I'm sorry. C'mon let's go say hi to our friends." Said Lucario. Braviary swooped up the edge of the towering cliff until they reached its peak. There stood an awe struck Skuntank, Koffing and Zubat. Their looks of utter disbelief made Lucario laugh. He pulled the relic fragment from his satchel and waved it around.  
"Sorry guys, maybe next time." Lucario said teasingly as Braviary began to fly away.  
"You little punk we'll get you for this!" Skuntank shouted. His voice faded as Braviary flew higher into the sky. "Let's go for a little ride." Lucario said patting Braviary's head. Braviary swooped through the clouds revealing an endless sea of blue. The sun was bright and the air was cool. Lucario closed his eyes as he felt the cool breeze. Braviary swooped and dived almost as if he were a rollercoaster. Braviary slowed into a soft a glide until they touched the sand covered surface of the beach. Lucario hopped off of Braviary's back and sat down in the sand. He looked over the ocean as the sun was setting. The water was glowing orange from the sunset. All that could be heard was the soft tide colliding with the beach and the occasional squawk of a Wingull.

"What a long day." Lucario said. "But hey , check it out." He pulled the relic fragment from his satchel. Lucario held the piece which looked like a broken rock. On it was a strange symbol. Braviary cocked his head when Lucario held it up. "I have no clue what it's for, but those three goons wanted it pretty bad. Who knows what secrets this thing holds!" Lucario exclaimed. Lucario looked at Braviary to see him staring off into the distance at something. Lucario looked in the direction Braviary had been staring and noticed far off in the distance, something was lying on the beach. It looked like another Pokémon. Lucario walked over to the mysterious Pokémon and kneeled next to it. What lie before him was a Lopunny. It looked as if she was passed out.

"Hey, are you alright?" Lucario asked nudging her. Her eyes opened slowly. All she could see was a blurred figure leaning over her. The deep voice seemed to echo in her head. _"Are you okay?" _Slowly her eyes adjusted. The first thing she noticed was the deep red eyes staring at her.  
"I think so" she mumbled sitting up slowly. She looked around see the massive ocean in front of her. "Where am I?" she asked.  
"You're on the shore right outside of Treasure Town." Lucario responded. She stared at Lucario with a blank, confused expression.

"What?" She asked with a confused and concerned expression

"Here let me help you up." Lucario replied holding his paw out. She grabbed it and he pulled her to her feet. "I don't think I've ever seen you before, where are you from?" Lucario asked. She looked around puzzled and a bit overwhelmed.  
"I.. I don't.." She started to black out again. Lucario caught her as she began to fall.

"Woah , we should probably find you a safe place to lie down."  
Lucario carried her over to Braviary and set her on his back.  
"C'mon we need to take her to the guild, she needs a place to rest." Lucario hopped on Braviary's back and Braviary took off towards the guild.

When they reached the guild Lucario hopped off of Braviary's back. He gently lifted Lopunny off as well and walked towards the large Wigglytuff shaped tent. As soon as he stepped on the grate in front of the large entrance a loud voice came from below.  
"WE GOT A FOOTPRINT!" The voice bellowed.  
"It's just me." Lucario replied. The gate then lifted and Lucario entered the large tent. He then fallowed the large set of stone steps that descended into the ground. Lucario reached the bottom where a Loudred and Diglett seemed to be waiting for him.

"You think after all these years you guys could recognize myn footprint by now." Lucario laughed.  
"Hey, you can never be too safe." Diglett replied.  
"Um, who is that?" Loudred asked pointing at the Lopunny in Lucario's arms.  
"Oh, just someone I found on the beach." Lucario replied.  
"You know we aren't supposed to just let outsiders in the guild!" Loudred shouted.

"Oh shut up, she was unconscious I couldn't just leave her out there" Lucario replied.  
"Okay but Wigglytuff my night be too happy" said Diglett.  
"Oh forget Wigglytuff," said Loudred nervously. " Think about Chatot, he'll lose it."  
"Well Chatot isn't the guild leader is he?" Lucario sneered. Lucario continued continued down the dark tunnel towards a door way. He opened the door revealing a bright vibrant room filled with chattering Pokémon. The floor was covered in lush green grass. The sunset reflecting off the ocean could be seen through the windows. The Pokemon were looking at maps and flipping through pages in books. Some were examining stones and rare gems. However when Lucario walked in the room they all seemed to stop.  
"Lucario is back!" a Bidoof cried. All the Pokemon seemed to gather around him asking questions about his exploration. However the questions quickly stopped when they noticed the Lopunny in his arms.  
"Who is that?" a Sunflora asked.  
"Well I found her-" but before Lucario could finish, a scratchy high pitched voice came from the back of the group.  
"Yes Lucario, who IS that?" Chatot fluttered to the front of the group and looked at Lucario with frustration.  
"Look, I found her on the beach and-"  
"You know outsiders aren't allowed in here unless they become approved members!" Chatot interrupted.  
"She's unconscious, I couldn't just leave her there!" Lucario snapped.  
"You've broken a major rule!" Chatot squawked.  
"She could be hurt!" Lucario shouted.

The two bickered and snapped each other until a roaring voice bellowed through the room.  
"What's going on here!?" the guild master Wigglytuff made his way to the front of the group. The entire room became quiet as Wigglytuff scolded the two Pokémon.  
"Well, care to explain!?" Wigglytuff asked with a scowl.  
"Sir, Lucario has let an outsider within the sacred walls of our guild." Chatot snitched. Wigglytuff then directed his attention towards Lucario. The unconscious Pokémon in his arms could not go unnoticed.  
"It would appear you have, Lucario." Wigglytuff said in a firm voice.

"Yes, I did. But she was unconscious on the beach. She could be injured, I couldn't just leave her out there." Lucario explained. Wigglytuff stared at Lucario with a stern expression.  
"I know I broke a major rule, and I'm sorry. But she needs a safe place to stay." Lucario pleaded. Wigglytuff continued the cold stare as if he were extremely upset.

"Okay!" Wigglytuff said in a brighter happier voice breaking the tension.  
"What?" Lucario and Chatot asked in unison confused by the sudden change in character.  
"We have some free beds, we can give her a place to stay until we are sure she's okay!" Wigglytuff exclaimed happily. Chatot immediately questioned his decision.  
"But sir you said the rule is-"  
"I'm the guild leader, I can bend my own rules a little can't I?" Wigglytuff asked with a smile.  
"Yes, but sir-"  
"So the decisions been made!" Wigglytuff interrupted.  
"I understand but-"  
"YOOM TAH!" Wigglytuff shouted.  
"Alright sir." Chatot said with a heavy sigh.  
"Let's find her a room to sleep in for now." Wigglytuff said.  
"There's a free bed in my room, she could sleep there." Sunflora offered.

Lucario walked across the large room and into a hallway that was lined with doors. He turned left into the first doorway. A small room with one window and two large hay cushioned beds. On a small table next to one of the beds laid a small book that read "Sunflora's Diary" on the cover. Lucario walked to the opposite side of the room and laid the Lopunny down on one of the beds. He looked at her for a moment. She still seemed to be completely unconscious. It was all so strange. An unfamiliar Pokémon who had never been seen in their town. And she is just laying on the beach. Completely unconscious for no apparent reason. It did not look as if she had been attacked or injured in anyway. Lucario turned around and walked out of the room. But he couldn't stop thinking about her, something was just so peculiar about it all.


	2. Chapter 2

Her eyes opened slowly to reveal a completely strange environment. She sat up and looked around. The stone walls, the floors covered in soft dirt. Where was she? There was a single window on the wall. The moon was shining brightly through the window revealing another bed on the other side of the room. What was lying the bed appeared to be a flower. She was now completely shocked, it was breathing. It was only then that she realized, she looked at her hands. She was shocked even further to see paws instead of hands. She stood up and ran towards the small doorway. She poked her head out to see a long tunnel lined with doors. At the end was a large entrance. She walked towards the entryway and stepped into a large room. The floor was covered in grass, the walls were draped with vines. There were too large window on opposite sides of the room. What was truly captivating were the chests lying around the room. The moonlight reflected off the strange jewels and stones that appeared to be scattered throughout the room. All of a sudden she felt something on her shoulder.

"You're finally awake." Said a deep voice from behind.

Alarmed by the unsuspected presence she started to scream only to have a paw cover her mouth. Still completely shocked her muffled screams continued.

"Stop screaming, do you want to wake everyone up?"

It was then that she realized the voice was strangely familiar. She had heard the voice before. Then she remembered, the deep red eyes. The ones she had seen on the beach. She turned around to see those familiar eyes again. At this moment became silent and immediately calmed down.

"That's better." Lucario said removing his paw.

"You're the one I saw earlier," she said with panic in her voice. Still frightened and confused. Completely unaware of where or what she was.

"Yeah, I found you on the beach," said Lucario as he nodded looking at her suspiciously.

"The beach? What was I doing there?" she asked frantically. "Where am I? What's going on?" The questions poured out of her one after another.

"It's okay just calm down," said Lucario gently. "Do you remember anything?"

"All I remember is.." she seemed to pause. A puzzled expression came across her face. "I remember being in the water, and seeing the sunlight.." She paused as if she were thinking.

"Do you remember anything else?" Lucario asked eagerly.

She looked at him, her face filled with fear. "After that everything is blank. I don't know who I am, where I'm from." She looked at her paws again. "I don't even know what I am."

Lucario shot her a strange look. "Well that's easy, you're a Pokémon. Just like the rest of us."

"A Pokémon?" she asked with a look of confusion.

Lucario was now concerned. "Well yes, a Lopunny to be exact," he said.

Lucario was extremely puzzled by this. It did not look as if she had any type of head injury. Or any form of injury at all, she looked fine. So why couldn't she remember anything?

"You really don't know anything about yourself do you?" Lucario asked.

She looked up with a face that was almost looked as if it was filled with despair.  
"I don't," she said quietly.

Lucario felt sorry for her. She was lost, confused and had nowhere to stay. He knew he had to do something to help her.  
"Go ahead and get some more rest, I'll talk to my boss tomorrow. I'm sure they'll be okay with you staying here for a while." Lucario said trying to comfort her.

She looked at him and smiled. "Thank you."

"Absolutely not!" Chatot exclaimed.

"She is lost, she has no memory. We can't just send her out there on her own." Lucario pleaded.

Chatot flew up to Lucario and got in his face. "As she is not a member of the guild, that would be going against guild rules. Which is strictly forbidden." He said impatiently.

"Wigglytuff please." begged Lucario.

Wigglytuff was sitting in his large chair. He put his hand over his mouth and a serious look swept over his face. It was clear he was in deep consideration.  
"Well I suppose if she has nowhere else to go.." said Wigglytuff.

"Sir don't even consider it!" Chatot exclaimed impatiently.

"Oh Chatot , have a heart. The poor Lopunny is lost." Said Wigglytuff in a sad, sympathetic tone.

"We have already broken a major guild rule by allowing her to stay the night!" Chatot squawked flapping his wings angrily. Chatot then took a deep breath and calmed himself  
"Sir, I know your intentions are pure but you can't continue to just ignore these rules."

Wigglytuff let out a heavy sigh and got out of his chair  
"Chatot is right Lucario, I'm afraid I have to say no." said Wigglytuff patting Lucario on the shoulder.

"As our top explorer I'm sure you understand the need to follow guild rules." Chatot said with a smug expression.

Lucario looked at Chatot with a bitter glare.  
"No I don't. I thought this guild was above ignoring helpless Pokémon in need."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic. She'll be fine." Chatot said rolling his eyes.

"Well It's time for me to go give my daily speech before everybody heads out ." Said Wigglytuff as he began to walk towards the door of his office.  
"Come along Lucario." said Wigglytuff as he opened the door.

Just then, a thought hit Lucario.  
"What if she were to join the guild?" Lucario asked.

Wigglytuff and Chatot stopped in their tracks. Wigglytuff closed the door and turned around to face him.  
"What was that?" Chatot asked.

"I said, what if she were to join our guild?" Lucario repeated,

"Please, you think a Pokémon that has no idea who she is could pass the initiation?" asked Chatot.

"Give her a chance, and if she fails... She's out." said Lucario trying to reason with them.

"Fair enough, as long as you supervise her I don't see why not." Wigglytuff said shaking Lucario's paw.

Lucario exited the office to see Lopunny sitting on a chair right next to the door.

"Well, what did they say?" she asked eagerly.

Lucario responded cautiously. "They said yes, sort of."

Lopunny shot Lucario a strange look. "Sort of? What do you mean?"

Before Lucario could answer Wigglytuff began his announcement.

"Attention guild! Before you all embark on your journeys for the day we have someone we would like introduce you to!" Wigglytuff shouted enthusiastically."We have a new Pokémon who would like to join the guild! Lopunny!"

The guild became silent and all of the members directed their attention to her.

"Excuse me?" she asked somewhat shocked and confused.

"Alright that's all for today, good luck everyone!" Wigglytuff shouted. Pokémon began filing out of the room and up the stairs.

Lopunny looked at Lucario in shock.  
"What was he talking about?" she asked.

"Well the deal was in order for you to stay here you have to become a member of the guild," Lucario explained. "And in order to do that you have to pass an initiation."

"You never told me this." Lopunny said seeming very frustrated.

"It was the only way you would even have a shot at being able to stay here," said Lucario. "I promise it won't be that bad."

Wigglytuff walked up to Lopunny and shook her paw.  
"It's great to see you're finally up and moving! Are you excited for your initiation?" Wigglytuff asked eagerly.

Lopunny chuckled nervously and pulled her paw away.  
"What exactly will I be doing?" she asked.

"Oh I'll tell you in a moment, first let me introduce you to some Pokémon around the guild." Said Wigglytuff as he grabbed her hand and led her across teh room to a group of Pokémon.

In front of her was a group of Pokémon all standing around talking. They became silent when Wigglytuff brought her over to meet them.

"Everyone meet Lopunny," said Wigglytuff. "She is hoping to join our guild today."

"Hello, I'm Diglett." Said Diglett as he popped out of the ground.

"Hi, nice to meet you! Names Loudred!" Loudred shouted.

Lopunny covered her hears and cringed. "It's nice to meet you too."

"I'm Chimecho, sorry Loudred is kind of.. Loud." Said Chimecho looking at Loudred with a scowl. "Anyways, I do all the cooking around here. I promise my food won't disappoint."

"I'm Sunflora, I'm the one you're sharing a room with. It's nice to meet you." Sunflora said excitedly.

There was a small Pokémon next to Sunflora that had not said anything.

"That's Bidoof, he's kind of shy," said Wigglytuff.

Lopunny extended her paw, "Hi Bidoof." She said with a smile.

Bidoof smiled and shook her hand.

"I suppose I should introduce myself as well," said Lucario. "My name is Lucario, and I'm going to be supervising you during your initiation today."

"About that, what exactly will I be doing?" Lopunny asked.

A big smile spread across Wigglytuff's face. "It's easy really, all you have to is retrieve a precious item."

"And where exactly will I find this?" Lopunny asked.

"Not one specifically," said Wigglytuff. "It could be anything. Gems, diamonds, maybe even some ancient artifact."

"Don't worry, this island is full of secrets and treasures just waiting to be found. It shouldn't be that hard." Sunflora said trying to reassure her.

"And I'll be supervising, so nothing bad will happen. I promise," said Lucario with a smile.

Lopunny closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. She was still completely confused about who or where she was and going on some quest was the last thing she wanted to do. But she knew it was the only way she would have a place to stay.

"Alright, I'll do it," she said.

"Wonderful!" Wigglytuff said with excitement. "I suppose you two should be on your way. You only have until sundown to complete yout test Lopunny. Make me proud!" Wigglytuff exlaimed.

Lucario grabbed his satchel and began walking up the stairs towards the entrance of the guild. Lopunny fallowed closely behind still unsure of the decision she had just made.  
She had no clue where she was, how she got there or where she came from. Why was she agreeing to going on quests and joining some guild she knew hardly anything about.

Once the two stepped outside they were standing at the top of a large hill that overlooked most of the island. Mountains could be seen off in the distance. A large sea of trees covered most of the island. Not far from the guild was a small town that could be seen.

"That's Treasure Town," Lucario said pointing to the small row of booth buildings filled with bustling Pokémon. "I can introduce you to some the folk around here, maybe they'll even know of some good places to look for treasure."

The two began walking down the steps. Lucario looked over at Lopunny, she didn't say anything. She just looked at the ground and kept to herself.

"Look, I know this is all new and probably frightening for you." Lucario said softly. "But I you'll really like the guild, I promise."

Lopunny looked up and smiled at him.


End file.
